Stanford Economist Compares NCAA to a Cartel

Ed O’Bannon’s lawsuit against the NCAA is finally underway and the prosecution is not wasting any time going after college sports’ governing body.

Stanford economist and key witness for the O’Bannon’s case, Richard Noll, testified today that there are other ways that players can be compensated for their contribution to their school’s athletic teams other than scholarships, saying that based on television contracts there is a value placed on players names and images and even compared the NCAA to a cartel.

“There are numerous ways besides scholarship to compensate college athletes, like allowing them to sell own names and images,” Noll said.

O’Bannon attorney continuing to guide his side’s expert’s breakdown of textbook by NCAA expert, which called NCAA a cartel